Arrested: Students abducted after renting car, forced to pay ransom; Three arrested

Bengaluru: Three individuals have been arrested by Chandra Layout police for allegedly abducting five students who had rented a car for a trip and holding them captive for a day while demanding a ransom of Rs. 50,000.

The arrested individuals, identified as Nitin (32), Shashank (34), and Vinod (30), are residents of Chandra Layout. Police have seized Rs. 30,000 in cash from the accused.

The incident occurred last week when the accused abducted five students and extorted Rs. 50,000 from them. The students had reported the incident to the police, with one of them, Manoj Banival, lodging a complaint.

According to the complaint, Manoj Banival, a B.Com student at a private college in the city, along with four other students from West Bengal, had rented a car for a trip to Madikeri on November 17. They had paid Rs. 3,000 for the car, which included Rs. 2,500 for the rental and Rs. 500 as commission. The rental was arranged by the accused, Vinod. During the booking, the students were told not to exceed 100 km/h on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway. As a guarantee, the students handed over a laptop, Aadhar card, and college ID.

When the group arrived to return the rented car at the Nagarabhavi Manjunath Enterprises office after completing their trip, Vinod reportedly confronted the students, and accused them of violating traffic rules by driving the car at 120 km/h on the highway. He also demanded Rs. 1.20 lakh as a fine.

According to the complaint, when the students refused to pay such a large amount and offered to pay a smaller sum of Rs. 4,000 to settle the matter, Vinod called his two accomplices to the location. They abducted the five students, locked them inside a house in Chandra Layout for a day, and assaulted them. Later, through the help of their friends, the students arranged Rs. 50,000 for the accused.

The accused then took the students to a nearby shop where the money was collected and dropped them off near their homes late at night. The students also reported that their mobile phones and laptops were stolen during the ordeal.

The police have registered a case and arrested the accused. The investigation is ongoing.